K-9 officers,

partners

learn and

update skills

By KURT NESBITT

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- Neighbors and passersby stopped by the Brown County Fairgrounds Thursday afternoon to check on barking dogs, popping guns and people dressed in camouflage that were running around with German shepherds on short leashes.

They found a dozen K-9 officers and their four-legged partners from police departments around the state. The officers and their dogs searched cars and buildings; chased decoys; ran past, jumped over and crawled under obstacles; and practiced under simulated gunfire.

These training activities took place throughout the week. The participants learned new ways of using dogs for police work and boned up on lessons already learned.

The training was under the auspices of the United States Police Canine Association's annual North Metro K-9 Tactical Street Training Program. The week-long course took police K-9 handlers through several different situations, sometimes for 12 hours a day.

By introducing police dogs to different scenarios, law enforcement personnel identified strong points and areas where improvement in needed, said New Ulm Police Officer Jeremy Reed, who participated with Thunder.

Monday began with an introduction to tactical positions, engaging suspects with guns. On Tuesday they worked on searching areas, tracking suspects and searching buildings and vehicles for drugs

On Wednesday a retired U.S. Customs agent demonstrated how and where to look for narcotics inside a vehicle and how K-9 officers should handle traffic stops. The officers gathered at a junkyard underneath the Highway 15 bridge, where the agent, David Eldine, hid marijuana inside two vehicles.

As the officers opened door after door, the dogs jumped inside the cars and sniffed for contraband. The dogs alerted their handlers either by barking or by scratching the area where the marijuana was hidden.

On Thursday afternoon, officers and their dogs performed agility exercises by racing around a series of barrels and jumping over obstacles.

Another scenario involved simulated gunfire to get the dogs accustomed to the noise.

"They're trained to be aggressive towards gunfire," said Lake Crystal Police Officer Jim Johnson, who, with his partner Art, went through the program.

In another situation, teams chased other officers, who ran with special pads on their arms designed to withstand the pressure of a dog bite, and seized them.